Cynthia Cary Van Pelt Russell (October 16, 1924 – November 24, 2019) was an American

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

, who was part of American 'High Society' in New York and

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, and is a first cousin once removed of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

Early life

She is the daughter of Guy Fairfax Cary (1879–1950) and

Cynthia Roche The Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche (10 April 1884 – 18 December 1966) was a British-American socialite and art collector from Newport, Rhode Island. Life and work She was born on 10 April 1884 in London to James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1852–192 ...

(1884–1966), who married in 1922. From her mother's first marriage to

Arthur Scott Burden Arthur Scott Burden (August 11, 1879 – June 15, 1921) was an American banker, equestrian, and member of the young set of New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Burden was born on August 11, 1879, in Troy, New York. He was the yo ...

, she had an older half-sister, Eileen Burden. Her older brother was Guy Fairfax Cary Jr., who did not marry. Her maternal grandparents were

James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (28 July 1851 – 30 October 1920), was a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons, and he held a title in the Peerage of Ireland during the final two months of his life. He was a great-gr ...

and

Frances Ellen Work Frances Ellen Work (October 27, 1857January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. She was a great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her great-great-grandchildren include the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, a ...

, and her mother's siblings were

Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy Edmund Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (15 May 1885 – 8 July 1955) was a British Conservative Party politician who held a title in the Peerage of Ireland. He was the maternal grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. Life and career Roch ...

(the maternal grandfather of

), and the Hon. Francis Burke Roche. Her paternal grandparents were Elizabeth Miller Potter and

Clarence Cary Clarence Cary (March 18, 1845 – August 27, 1911) was an American lawyer who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Clarence Cary was born in Fairfax County, Virginia on March 18, 1845,"Mrs. Constance Cary Harrison ...

, who grew up at Vaucluse plantation with his sister,

Constance Cary Constance Cary Harrison (pen name, Refugitta; April 25, 1843 – November 21, 1920), also referred as Mrs. Burton Harrison, was an American playwright and novelist. She and two of her cousins were known as the "Cary Invincibles"; the three sewed t ...

."Mrs. Constance Cary Harrison," in Elisabeth Miller Potter was a granddaughter of

Alonzo Potter Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society." ...

. Her great-grandparents, Archibald Cary and Monimia Fairfax were a Southern planter aristocrat family. Archibald Cary was the son of Wilson Jefferson Cary and

Virginia Randolph Virginia Estelle Randolph (May 1870 – March 16, 1958) was an American educator in Henrico County, Virginia. She was named the United States' first "Jeanes Supervising Industrial Teacher" by her Superintendent of Schools, Jackson Davis, and sh ...

. Monimia Fairfax was the daughter of

Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), was an American born Scottish peer, who along with his father, on 11 December 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon before Washington died. Early life and family Thomas Fair ...

. Cynthia's parents resided at 61 East 91st Street in Manhattan and at "Oak Hill" in

Jericho, New York Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Cen ...

. She graduated from the

Chapin School Chapin School is an all-girls independent day school in New York City's Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan. History Maria Bowen Chapin opened "Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls" in 1901. The school origin ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

of Manhattan. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she served as a nurse's aide.

Personal life

On August 23, 1947, she was married to Charles Bingham Penrose Van Pelt (1922–2003) at Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Charles was the son of Andrew Van Pelt and Sarah Hannah Boies Penrose. A lawyer, he graduated from Groton,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

and served in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence in the Pacific during the War. Before their divorce, they had two sons and daughter: * Peter Turner Van Pelt (b. 1948), a writer. * Guy Fairfax Cary Van Pelt (b. 1957), who married Mary McGill duBose Adickes, the daughter of Mrs. Thomas Walter Blake and David Pryor Adickes, in 2000. * Abby Ann Van Pelt, who married Jay R. Feldman, in 1982. She later married Edwin F. Russell (1914–2001), an American newspaper publisher. He had previously been married to Lady Sarah Spencer-Churchill, daughter of

John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough John Albert Edward William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, (18 September 1897 – 11 March 1972), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1934, was a British military officer and peer. Early life He was born in London on 18 September ...

from 1943 until their divorce in 1966.

Winston Spencer Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, a grandson of the prime minister, served as a page at the wedding. He married Iris Paine (daughter of Ambassador Earl E. T. Smith) after Lady Sarah and before Cynthia. She died in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

, on November 24, 2019.

Residence

Russell's home in Newport, "Elm Court" was featured in a Style article of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' about the updating of classic homes in that rarified community. She was an active member of the

Preservation Society of Newport County The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Cynthia Cary Van Pelt 1924 births American socialites People from Newport, Rhode Island Cary family of Virginia 2019 deaths